This invention relates generally to resting and sleeping quarters for an aircraft crew, and more particularly concerns overhead aircraft crew resting and sleeping quarters in a space-saving and weight-saving configuration occupying substantially otherwise unused space aboard an aircraft.
Resting or sleeping facilities are commonly provided for the crew and passengers of ships, boats, trucks, buses, and the like when they are used for transportation of cargo or passengers over long distances. For example, one conventional arrangement for a two-deck trailer includes upper deck and lower deck sections, with the upper deck section including beds and stairs leading from one end of the lower deck to a central area of the upper deck. However, such facilities have been more uncommon for long distance airline flights, due to aircraft weight constraints and limitations of available space aboard aircraft. Bunks for crew members aboard ship, for example, are typically constructed of heavy metal frames bolted together to provide a heavy structure inappropriate for aircraft.
One known conventional aircraft crew rest facility includes configurations having 6 or 7 bunks. However, the crew rest facility is located in the lower lobe cargo bay of the aircraft, and occupies otherwise valuable cargo space, resulting in a loss of full freight capability for the aircraft. The weight of the crew rest facility is approximately 2,200 pounds, which further limits the capacity of the aircraft for carrying cargo or passengers.
Another known design for an aircraft overhead crew rest station includes bunk portions forward and aft of a central deck portion with left and right side bunk portions, and a central entry vestibule connected between the central deck portion and a passenger seating area below, and providing direct access to the central deck portion and bunk portions of the aircraft crew rest station.
Another conventional configuration for an aircraft overhead rest area includes an escape system in the crown of an aircraft above the ceiling in the main passenger cabin. A permanent access stairway is provided at one end of the overhead rest area, and an emergency escape includes a slide that can swing between a upward closed position and a downward open position.
It would be desirable to provide an improved configuration for a crew rest and sleeping station with bunk portions having a plurality of adjacent individual bunks or sleeping berths configured in interfitting alternating trapezoid shapes to optimize spatial accommodation of body proportions of crew members in available aircraft space in the overhead crown area of a commercial aircraft above a passenger cabin area, while still maintaining FAA bunk size and volume requirements. In order to further optimize entry space for crew member access to bunk portions provided, it would be desirable to provide common access to individual entrances to partitioned individual bunks or sleeping berths of the bunk portions provided from a central deck common area of the crew rest station, with a central entry vestibule connected between the central deck common area and a passenger seating area of the aircraft. It would also be desirable to provide an emergency escape hatch that exits into cabin aisleway, and a fold-down jump seat or auxiliary seat for optional seating during taxi, take-off and landing in the common deck area, typically adjacent to the emergency escape hatch. It would also be desirable to provide a combination fold-down entry door and floor cover in the stairwell or ladder area of a central vestibule to expand common area floor space, to provide increased capacity for crew members, occupying an area of the aircraft that is otherwise generally unused. It is also desirable to provide a crew rest and sleeping station that has a space-saving and weight-saving configuration that minimizes the reduction in capacity of the aircraft for carrying cargo or passengers. The present invention meets these and other needs.